Mohammed Ahmed, left, and Yusuf Sarwar, have admitted to linking up with an extremist group fighting jihad in Syria. Photograph: West Midlands police/PA

There is something profoundly disturbing about the conviction on supposed terrorism charges of Yusuf Sarwar and Mohammed Ahmed (Britons flew to Syria to link up with extremist group, 9 July). Admittedly the two young men pleaded guilty to the charge, but no one can know of the pressures that would have been placed on them to try to mitigate their eventual sentence. What did they actually do? They joined one group in Syria of which "we" disapprove, to fight against another group (the government) of which "we" disapprove even more (understandably). Did the two men threaten to commit terrorist outrages against Britain? There seems to be no evidence of that, they are being charged solely with events in Syria not the UK. The prosecution seems to be of a piece with the new security measures that are being undertaken (Report, 9 July) in a hysterical overreaction that even Sir Richard Dearlove, the ex-head of MI6, regards as an overblown response to a largely illusory threat (Report, 8 July). It's beyond time to regain some perspective on these threats, which Dearlove describes as fundamentally different from the 9/11 and 7/7 attacks, and to stop prosecuting young men for taking part in wars that are wholly outwith our jurisdiction.Dr Richard CarterLondon

• The government claims we need a snooper's charter (Report, 10 July) to protect us from the Big Bad Terrorist, Rioting Hoodies and Rolf Harrises. Regular policing won't do, it claims, so universal snooping is the answer. However, the snag with universal snooping is that it produces false positives. Snooping on millions means thousands will be wrongly identified as terrorists etc. Investigating the innocent thousands will drain resources and allow real terrorists to avoid detection. Arresting the innocent will turn more people against the UK and will be a recruiting agent for terrorism, like internment was in Northern Ireland. We must oppose the draconian, counterproductive law.Barry TigheLondon